1 Church, and which were finally ratified by Convocation, only such Services were retained as had been originally instituted by the early Christian Church 1; amongst which were the Festivals that commemorate those holy Apostles and Martyrs who were chosen by our Blessed Lord Himself, or who had been especially designated by the Holy Ghost to bear a part in His sufferings, and to become witnesses of His Word to the end that the Church being "built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone," might be "fitly framed together," and grow "unto an holy temple in the Lord," and an "habitation of God through the Spirit"." We have the assurance of Christ Himself, that "if we know these things, happy are we if we do them "." That the rising generation of English Churchmen may 1 See "Palmer's Antiquities of the English Ritual." 2 Eph. ii. 20-22. 3 John xiii. 17. both learn to know them, and strive to do them; and that in so doing they may obtain the promised blessing of Christ whilst members of His Church militant on earth, and finally become one with the Communion of Saints in Heaven, is the earnest hope, and' fervent prayer of THE AUTHOR. NOTE.-The four "State Services," as they are usually called, namely, those appointed to commemorate the Gunpowder Treason; the Martyrdom of King Charles the First; the Restoration of the Royal Family; and the Accession of the reigning Sovereign; were not amongst the Services contained in the Book of Common Prayer, when it was revised, and ratified by Convocation, and finally established in 1662 by consent of the Church. These four State Services were established separately, and ordered to be kept by Act of Parliament only'; and the three which are first named, have already been repealed in the same manner as they were established, by a recent Act of Parliament of 1859. 4 See "Occasional Sermons," by Chr. Wordsworth, D.D., Canon of Westminster. Sermon VIII., p. 145, "On the Authority and Uses of Church Synods." WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED DURING THE COURSE OF THE FOLLOWING PAGES. The Holy Bible, with Marginal Readings. Greek Testament, with Notes, by Chr. Wordsworth, D.D., Canon of Westminster. Occasional Sermons, by the same Author. Hulsean Lectures on the Apocalypse, by the same Author. Hulsean Lectures on the Canon of Scripture, by the same Author. Antiquities of the English Ritual, by the Rev. William Palmer. Elements of Christian Theology, by Dr. Tomline, Bishop of Lincoln. Wheatley on the Book of Common Prayer. History of the Prayer Book, by Archdeacon Berens. Bishop Pearson on the Creed. Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History. Socrates' Ecclesiastical History. Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History. Cruden's Concordance to the Holy Scriptures. Nelson's Companion to the Fasts and Festivals of the Church of England. Pictorial Dictionary to the Holy Bible, by Dr. Kitto. The English Diatessaron, by T. Thirlwall. Letters on Christian Art, by Lord Lindsay. Landscape Illustrations of the Holy Bible. with de scriptions, by the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Horne, B.D. Maundrell's Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem. |